Inappropriate Bets
by hibiren
Summary: In a sudden rush of anger, Alan accidentally says something he normally wouldn't, leaving his coworkers shocked. Alan is surprised-not-so-surprised to find out that Eric and Ronald had apparently wagered on the matter. [repost from my ao3 account]


"Now, Ronald, do you see how I've organized this report?" Alan asked his junior, tapping him on the arm to make sure he was paying attention. The younger reaper had become particularly fixated with a small glass vase of hydrangeas by the windowsill. He poked at it with interest, running his fingers across the smooth petals of the flower bundle.

"Ronald," Alan tried again, more insistent in his tone, "Would you please pay attention?"

"Hm? What?" Ronald snapped up and in his sudden movement he'd lost his balance, falling back toward the wall. Before Alan could react in time, soon both Ronald and the hydrangeas were toppled over on the floor, as Ronald's elbow had bumped it just enough to knock it off the sill. The vase had broken into several large pieces, its lavender-tinted shards scattered behind Alan's desk. Alan wasn't paying attention enough to realize that Ronald's actions might not have been accidental…

Ronald laid on the floor, shaking his head as he fixed his glasses which had fallen off when he hit the wall. After that Ronald tried to pick up one of the glass shards and let out a small yelp of pain as one cut his finger. Alan was still trying to cope with the fact that the vase, which was a gift from Eric from some time ago, had been broken in a careless act. He thought, if only Ronald had been paying more attention, nothing would have happened.

"Ow!" The young blond cradled his hand against his chest after letting go of the glass shard, trying to stop the light bleeding in his finger.

"What—what the hell, Ronald? You broke the damn vase, and—oh, my poor flowers! What am I to do about this? I don't have anywhere else to put them and they're destroyed now…"

A mix of shock and confusion raced across Ronald's expression before he muttered, "Senior Humphries, did you just… swear?"

And then Alan realized that in his frustration he let his emotions slip through maybe a bit too much. He was supposed to be a good influence on the newer reaper and yet in an accident of his own he'd let something past his usual mental censors.

"Oh, R-Ronald, I'm… I didn't mean… I'm sorry, please don't be cross with me," Alan mumbled, feeling flustered all of a sudden. He busied himself by grabbing a handkerchief and picking up each of the glass bits and then discarding them in the trash bin beside his desk. He hoped Ronald wouldn't dwell on it and decided to try and change the subject. "Oh, and your hand, would you like me to, ah, clean it up? I do have a first aid kit around here, for emergencies…" It was definitely an understatement to say that Alan liked to be prepared for anything that might happen. It was part of his nature, really, that he felt like he needed to anticipate whatever could happen be it scratches or something infected.

The blond still sat on the floor, looking at Alan in amazement.

"You did! You swore! Wow, Senior Humphries, I'm impressed, I didn't think you knew how to."

Oh I do, Alan thought to himself reluctantly, my partner swears like a sailor. I've heard probably every word there is to hear, and then some.

Suddenly, in a burst of energy Ronald stood up and bolted out of Alan's office and made a run down the hallway. Alan peeked his head out of the door to see where he was going, and all he could hear, though quiet, was, "Senior Slingby, Senior Slingby! Guess what! He finally did it! I got Senior Humphries to swear so you owe me! …Well, it was an accident, but that's not important. We should have a party! And get lots of drinks. And if we go anywhere I don't have to pay this time!"

Oh no…

"He did, did he? What did'ye do? Break something?" Oh, Eric was definitely in on it. He sounded too interested in the idea to be anything but that.

"Weeeeell, maybe."

"Damn, I guess I do owe ye then. Next time let's bet on something that won't take forever though, aye? I'd almost forgotten we even agreed on it."

Agitated, Alan ran out into the hall and went to Eric's office where Ronald was perched dramatically over his desk like he'd just found the cure for cancer and had to share it with the world.

"I already said it was an accident, I didn't mean to, it slipped out…" Alan mumbled hurriedly, trying his best to stay calm. "Please, Ronald, I hope you don't think of me as a bad influence. Unlike Mr. Slingby here, who thinks it is a good idea to make bets with his juniors over such improper matters…" Alan shot a glare in Eric's direction, who shrank back into his chair. It really took a lot to make Alan swear and if he did, it was usually because he'd had a particularly bad day. Eric wasn't helping, especially if he was encouraging such behaviors as betting during work hours. On top of that, when Alan was angry, as rare an occurrence as that was, it was certainly terrifying.

"Look, I'm sorry, Alan, it was supposed to be just a little fun. I can get ye a new vase, I promise," Eric said calmly, trying to keep Alan from becoming upset any further. Now Alan could tell Eric was starting to feel bad for what he'd done, even if the bet was probably started as a joke.

"Fun? You call breaking things with the intention of getting your coworker to swear, and making bets on it… fun? What is the matter with you two? I ought to report you to Mr. Spears…"

"No!" Both reapers shouted at once, expressions of terror on their faces. If anything, they wanted to keep William out of their shenanigans.

Alan shrugged, inhaling slowly to try to calm himself down. "Alright. Just… no more bets like that. Please. I'd like to keep my flowers and my office in one piece."

"Okay. Sorry about your vase, though, I can help buy a new one," Ronald muttered sheepishly, also feeling bad for what he'd done. He looked like a child who'd gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but at least he was mature enough to admit what he'd done wasn't the best of ideas.

"No, don't worry about it. Those flowers were a bit on the old side anyway… and I suppose it doesn't hurt to buy new ones every so often and change up the colors in my office?" Alan said with a small chuckle. At least he was starting to work himself back into a positive mood. And when he thought about it, it might have been a little on the amusing side that his coworkers had a bet over when he'd swear. He'd wondered how long they'd even had the idea… "Anyhow, I suppose we should get back to work. That's enough messing around for one day, don't you agree?"

"Alright… back to work…" Ronald muttered boredly.

"Guess it's my turn to play babysitter, eh?" Eric said with a smirk as he clapped a hand down on Ronald's shoulder. "No problem."

And with that Alan returned to his office, leaving Ronald and Eric behind him. He could have sworn he heard loud laughter after he closed the door behind him, but it didn't bother him too much now. Someone had to get the papers done, after all, and Alan thought it was best not to linger too much on the negativities of the day.


End file.
